ObjectiveA qualitative analysis method was established for the composition of Astragali Radix（AR） before and after rice stir-frying. On the basis of systematic characterization of the chemical compositions in AR and stir-fried AR with rice（ARR）， the structures of their major compounds were deduced and identified， and the differential compositions between them were analyzed. MethodsUltra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry（UPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS） was used to detect the samples of AR and ARR in positive and negative ion modes， respectively. The compounds were analyzed and identified through self-constructed databases， literature， and reference standards， etc. And the data were analyzed by chemometrics， in order to screen for the differential components between AR and ARR. ResultsA total of 123 compounds were identified in AR and ARR， including 41 flavonoids， 19 terpenoids， 26 organic acids， 8 amino acids， 5 nucleotides， 5 carbohydrates and 19 other compounds. Among them， there were 95 common components in both， 18 unique components in AR， and 10 unique components in ARR. Principal component analysis（PCA） and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis（OPLS-DA） results both showed that there were significant differences in the chemical constituents of AR before and after rice stir-frying， and a total of 26 constituents with differences in the content were screened out， including L-canavanine， L-pyroglutamic acid， L-phenylalanine， cis-caffeic acid， and malonylastragaloside Ⅰ. Among them， 19 constituents of ARR were down-regulated and 7 constituents were up-regulated by comparing with AR. ConclusionThis study clarifies that the chemical composition of AR and ARR is mainly composed of flavonoids， terpenoids， and organic acids， and analyzes the components with significant differences in content between the two in combination with chemometrics， and the differential components are dominated by amino acids， organic acids and terpenoids， which can provide reference for the subsequent quality control and material basis research.

A UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap/MS method was developed to identify the related substances in apixaban tablets. Complete separation was accomplished with a Waters Xbridge C18 (250 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm) column by linear gradient elution using a mobile phase consisting of 30 mmol/L ammonium acetate buffer solution (pH 4.50) and acetonitrile. The related substances were successfully characterized through the accurate mass and elemental composition of the parent ions and their product ions determined by electrospray positive ionization high-resolution Q-Orbitrap/MS methods. Under the established analytical condition, apixaban and its related substances were well separated, and 30 related substances were detected and identified by hyphenated techniques in apixaban tablets and their stressed samples. Among them, 11 were known impurities and the rest 19 were unknown related substances identified for the first time in this study. The results obtained are valuable for apixaban manufacturing process optimization and quality control.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate a new noninvasive diagnostic model for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) based on features of tongue images. METHODS: Healthy controls and volunteers confirmed to have NAFLD by liver ultrasound were recruited from China-Japan Friendship Hospital between September 2018 and May 2019, then the anthropometric indexes and sampled tongue images were measured. The tongue images were labeled by features, based on a brief protocol, without knowing any other clinical data, after a series of corrections and data cleaning. The algorithm was trained on images using labels and several anthropometric indexes for inputs, utilizing machine learning technology. Finally, a logistic regression algorithm and a decision tree model were constructed as 2 diagnostic models for NAFLD. RESULTS: A total of 720 subjects were enrolled in this study, including 432 patients with NAFLD and 288 healthy volunteers. Of them, 482 were randomly allocated into the training set and 238 into the validation set. The diagnostic model based on logistic regression exhibited excellent performance: in validation set, it achieved an accuracy of 86.98%, sensitivity of 91.43%, and specificity of 80.61%; with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.93 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.68-0.98]. The decision tree model achieved an accuracy of 81.09%, sensitivity of 91.43%, and specificity of 66.33%; with an AUC of 0.89 (95% CI 0.66-0.92) in validation set. CONCLUSIONS The features of tongue images were associated with NAFLD. Both the 2 diagnostic models, which would be convenient, noninvasive, lightweight, rapid, and inexpensive technical references for early screening, can accurately distinguish NAFLD and are worth further study.
Humans ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/diagnostic imaging* ; Ultrasonography ; Anthropometry ; Algorithms ; China

ObjectiveTriple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the breast cancer subtype with the worst prognosis, and lacks effective therapeutic targets. Colony stimulating factors (CSFs) are cytokines that can regulate the production of blood cells and stimulate the growth and development of immune cells, playing an important role in the malignant progression of TNBC. This article aims to construct a novel prognostic model based on the expression of colony stimulating factors-related genes (CRGs), and analyze the sensitivity of TNBC patients to immunotherapy and drug therapy. MethodsWe downloaded CRGs from public databases and screened for differentially expressed CRGs between normal and TNBC tissues in the TCGA-BRCA database. Through LASSO Cox regression analysis, we constructed a prognostic model and stratified TNBC patients into high-risk and low-risk groups based on the colony stimulating factors-related genes risk score (CRRS). We further analyzed the correlation between CRRS and patient prognosis, clinical features, tumor microenvironment (TME) in both high-risk and low-risk groups, and evaluated the relationship between CRRS and sensitivity to immunotherapy and drug therapy. ResultsWe identified 842 differentially expressed CRGs in breast cancer tissues of TNBC patients and selected 13 CRGs for constructing the prognostic model. Kaplan-Meier survival curves, time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curves, and other analyses confirmed that TNBC patients with high CRRS had shorter overall survival, and the predictive ability of CRRS prognostic model was further validated using the GEO dataset. Nomogram combining clinical features confirmed that CRRS was an independent factor for the prognosis of TNBC patients. Moreover, patients in the high-risk group had lower levels of immune infiltration in the TME and were sensitive to chemotherapeutic drugs such as 5-fluorouracil, ipatasertib, and paclitaxel. ConclusionWe have developed a CRRS-based prognostic model composed of 13 differentially expressed CRGs, which may serve as a useful tool for predicting the prognosis of TNBC patients and guiding clinical treatment. Moreover, the key genes within this model may represent potential molecular targets for future therapies of TNBC.

It has gradually become a consensus in the industry that the traditional Chinese medicine gypsum should be decocted first, but the understanding of decocting method is not completely unified in the works of doctors since ancient times, and there are occasional disputes about whether it is necessary to decocting first. In this study, the phase determination, physical and chemical characterization, qualitative and quantitative analysis of inorganic and organic components of the decoctions of herbal pairs and the whole prescription Maxingshigan decoction with gypsum as the center, and the pre-decoctions and co-decoctions of them were carried out to explore the scientific connotation of the pre-decoctions of gypsum. Results show that decoction phases were different between the co-decoctions and pre-decoctions of licorice-gypsum (Gancao-Shigao, GC-SG), ephedra-gypsum (Mahuang-Shigao, MH-SG) and almond-gypsum (Xingren-Shigao, XR-SG). The results of the micromorphology, particle size and zeta potential of herbal pairs and prescription (Quanfang, QF) showed that the supramolecular particles in pre-decoctions were smaller, more uniform and more stable than the co-decoctions. The results of organic components analysis showed that different cooking methods did not change the organic composition and content. ICP-OES results showed that the content of inorganic components in pre-decoctions was higher than in co-decoctions for the same boiling time of gypsum. The IR results showed that the pre-decoctions had stronger chemical functional group effect than the co-decoctions. To sum up, compared with the co-decoction, the pre-decoction of gypsum has different phase state and chemical composition interaction, and the difference of inorganic composition is an important material basis affecting the change of phase state compared with the co-decoction. It indicates that the material basis of traditional Chinese medicine decoction is indeed different whether gypsum is decocted first or not, which can provide a basis for the clinical application of decocted gypsum.

Licorice-gypsum (gancao-shigao, GC-SG) drug pair was used as the research object, using supramolecular chemistry to explore the scientific connotation of combining herbal medicine GC with insoluble mineral medicine SG in clinical application of traditional Chinese medicine. ① The Tyndall effect, microscopic morphology and particle size of the single and co-decocted of GC and SG were observed, the paste content and conductivity were determined, and the interaction between GC and SG was detected by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and infrared absorption spectroscopy (IR). ② Calcium chloride (CaCl₂), a soluble calcium salt of equal gypsum quality, was used instead of SG with GC for co-decocting to explore the effect of calcium salt content on the water decocting, and the characteristics were combined with the Tyndall effect, microscopic morphology, paste content and conductivity. ITC and IR techniques were used to detect the interaction between the two, and the interaction between them was detected by ITC and IR. The zeta potential and ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry (UV-vis) of GC-SG and GC-CaCl₂ co-decoction were compared, and the inorganic and organic components in the co-decoction were detected by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The results showed: ① Compared with the liquid phase of single decoction, GC-SG co-decoction had more obvious Tyndall effect, and showed uniform spherical nanoparticles under electron microscope. Physical characterization results such as paste content and conductivity showed that co-decoction promoted the dissolution of each other's components; ITC and IR results showed that there was strong interaction between GC and SG, which preliminatively indicated that GC and SG co-decoction promoted the formation of uniform and stable supramolecular system of traditional Chinese medicine. ② When soluble calcium salt was used to substitute insoluble SG with GC for co-decocting, a stronger but astigmatic light path appeared than single decocting solution, the zeta potential was reduced, and a large number of accumulated polymers were formed. The results of paste content and conductivity showed that the dissolution of the co-decocting component was reduced than the single decocting component. ITC, UV-vis and IR results showed that there was interaction between GC with Ca²⁺ and SG. The formation of polysink indicated that a large amount of soluble calcium salt would destroy the stability of supramolecular Chinese medicine. The results of ICP-OES and HPLC showed that the glycyrrhizic acid (GA) content of the former lower than the latter, which was related to the formation of a large number of polycondensates with the increase of Ca²⁺ concentration and the decrease of the dissolution of GA and other active ingredients. This study indicates that the compatibility of GC and SG can form a uniform and stable supramolecular system of traditional Chinese medicine. Calcium salt, the main component of SG, is taken as the starting point. Excessive soluble Ca²⁺ can promote the aggregation of active ingredients such as GA, so as to reveal the scientific connotation of the compatibility of GC and SG, an insoluble mineral medicine.

AIM:To observe the anti-scarring effects and safety of triamcinolone acetonide(TA)-loaded hydrogel sustained-release sheeting on stab incision glaucoma surgery(SIGS)with “one-step tunnel method” in rabbit eyes.METHODS:A total of 48 healthy New Zealand white rabbits were randomly selected and divided into 4 groups(12 rabbits in each group), trabeculectomy(Trab)group, SIGS group, polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel(PVAH)sheeting was implanted under the conjunctiva flap during SIGS(PVAH group), and hydrogel sustained-release sheeting loaded with TA was implanted under the conjunctiva flap during SIGS(TA/PVAH group). On the 1, 2, 3, and 4 wk after surgery, the intraocular pressure, filtering bubble morphology, anterior chamber reaction, and other complications were observed and recorded in each group. Then animals were euthanized, and the surgery area tissues of right eye were taken for pathological tissue paraffin section. Masson staining, picric acid-Sirius rose red staining, as well as α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA)and fibroblast growth factor 2(FGF2)immunohistochemistry staining was performed on every section. The infiltration of inflammatory cells, proliferation of fibroblasts and synthesis of type I and type III collagen fibers in local tissues were observed. The average positive area ratio of α-SMA and FGF2 antibody immunohistochemical staining in each group was calculated and compared.RESULTS: The TA/PVAH group maintained diffuse and elevated functional filtering blebs, while flat filtering blebs appeared in Trab, SIGS and PVAH groups at 2 wk after surgery. Functional filtering blebs were present in 1 eye(33%), 2 eyes(67%)in the PVAH and TA/PVAH group at 4 wk after surgery, respectively, while the other filtering blebs were flattened. Masson staining showed that the hydrogels in PVAH and TA/PVAH groups did not degrade at 4 wk after surgery. Compared with the Trab and SIGS groups, the filtration passages were more obvious, with less collagen fiber proliferation. Sirius red staining showed that the expression of type I collagen and type III collagen in the TA/PVAH group was less than that in the Trab group, SIGS group and PVAH group at 4 wk after surgery. Immunohistochemical staining showed that the α-SMA expression in the TA/PVAH group was significantly lower than that in the Trab and SIGS groups at 1 wk after surgery(P<0.01). The α-SMA expression was the highest in the Trab and SIGS groups at 2 wk after surgery, while the α-SMA expression in the PHAP and TA/PVAH groups was significantly lower than that in the first two groups(P<0.01). Compared with the Trab group, the expression of FGF2 in the PVAH and TA/PVAH group was significantly increased at 1, 2, 3 and 4 wk after surgery(P<0.05). Compared with the SIGS group, FGF2 expression in the TA/PVAH group was significantly increased at 4 wk after surgery(P<0.05).CONCLUSION:In SIGS surgery of rabbit eyes, implanting hydrogel sustained-release sheeting loaded with TA under conjunctival flap can effectively inhibit the scarring of the filtering bleb, which may be the interaction of the anti-scar effect of TA and the stent function of hydrogel.

Objective : To explore the mechanism of hippocampal corticotropin-releasing hormone ( CRH) receptor type 1 ( CRHR1 ) in chronic stress-induced learning and memory impairment in early aged mice． Methods: C57BL /6J mice aged 12 －14 months were divided into two groups according to gender，and then divided into wild type (WT) group and hippocampal CRHR1 conditional gene knockout (KN) group according to genotype．Mice in each group were randomly divided into control group and stress group，and the stress group was subjected to chronic unpredictable stress ( CUS ) for 30 days． Genotyping of mice was performed using polymerase chain reaction ( PCR) ，agarose gel electrophoresis and real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) ．The new object rec- ognition experiment and Morris Water maze measured learning and memory ability．Golgi-Cox staining was used to observe damage to hippocampal neuronal dendrites． The protein expressions of target protein of rapamycin (mTOR) ，p-mTOR (Ser2448) ，ribosomal protein S6 kinase ( p70S6K) and p-p70S6K ( Thr389 / Thr412 ) were detected by Western blot．Serum levels of corticotropin releasing hormone ( CRH) were measured by ELISA. Results : Compared to mice without chronic stress，the cognitive coefficient of WT stress groups decreased after chron- ic stress，and the difference was statistically significant (P ＜0. 05) ，while there was no significant difference in cognitive coefficient of KN stress groups before and after chronic stress．Compared with the WT stress group，the escape latency of the WT control group was shortened (P＜0. 05) ，and the number of crossing the platform and tar- get quadrant increased (P ＜0. 01) ，and there was no significant difference in the KN groups above． Compared with the WT control group，the WT stress group had a significant reduction in the neuronal complexity in the hipp- ocampal CA1，CA3 and DG regions (P ＜0. 05) and significant reductions in the expression of p-mTOR and p- p70S6K in the hippocampus (P＜0. 05) ．There was no significant difference in the expression of p-mTOR between the KN stress group and the KN control group (P＞0. 05) ，except that the expression of p-mTOR in the hippocam- pus of the female group decreased (P＜0. 05) ．In addition，the serum level of CRH in the stress group was higher than that in the control group (P＜0. 01) ． Conclusion Hippocampal CRHR1 regulates learning and memory im- pairment and neuronal dendrite damage in early aged mice induced by chronic stress．The mechanism may be that high levels of CRH induced by chronic stress cannot bind to CRHR1 receptor，thereby enhancing the expression of down-regulated mTOR / p70S6K signaling pathway.

BACKGROUND:Transposition of the long head of biceps tendon is a commonly surgical method for massive rotator cuff tears.Currently,there are a few reports on the clinical efficacy of the transposition of the long head of biceps tendon and there is no consensus on the influencing factors for retearing. OBJECTIVE:To observe the outcome of arthroscopic long head of the biceps tendon in the treatment of massive rotator cuff tear. METHODS:The clinical data of 28 patients with massive rotator cuff tears,aged(61.79±10.50)years,admitted at Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine from March 2019 to May 2022 were retrospectively analyzed.All patients underwent arthroscopic long head of the biceps tendon.Patients were assessed for visual analog scale scores,University of California at Los Angeles scores,American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons scores,Constant-Murley scores,and shoulder range of motion before and 1 year after operation.MRI of the shoulder joint was performed for observing the integrity of the repaired structure at 1 year after operation.Twenty-three patients(5 of 28 lost to follow-up)were categorized into the intact tendon group(n=18)and the tendon retear group(n=5)according to the Sugaya typing at 1 year after operation;the patients were divided into the normal group(n=8),the degeneration group(n=9),and the partial tear group(n=6)according to the intraoperative quality of the long head of the biceps tendon.Differences in the above indexes were compared between groups. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:When followed up at 1 year after surgery,the range of motion,visual analog scale scores,University of California at Los Angeles scores,American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons scores,Constant-Murley scores of the shoulder were significantly improved compared with preoperative data(P＜0.05).There was a significant difference in Goutellier grading between intact tendon and tendon retear groups(P＜0.05),while no significant difference was observed in the other influencing factors(P＞0.05).There were no significant differences in visual analog scale scores,University of California at Los Angeles scores,American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons scores,Constant-Murley scores,and shoulder range of motion at 1 year after operation among the normal,degeneration,and partial tear groups(P＞0.05).MRI findings indicated that the sutured tendon healed well in 18 patients,with a healing rate of 78%.Arthroscopic long head of the biceps tendon for augmented repair can provide a reliable repair for massive rotator cuff tear that is refractory,significantly alleviate the pain of the shoulder joint,and restore the function of the shoulder joint.

Objective:To investigate the risk factors and their warning effectiveness for meniscus tear secondary to delayed anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction.Methods:A retrospective cohort study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 114 patients (114 knees) with ACL injury, who were admitted to Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine from December 2018 to December 2023, including 78 males and 36 females, aged 11-50 years [29(21, 35)years]. The patients were divided into tear group ( n=46) and non-tear group ( n=68) according to whether combined with meniscus tear or not during the surgery. Gender, age, duration of disease, smoking history, Body Mass Index (BMI), cause of injury, mechanism of injury, side of the injury, Beighton score, difference of KT-2000 examination, Tegner activity scale of the knee joint, anterior tibial translation sign, medial posterior tibial slope angle, lateral posterior tibial slope angle, and pivot shift grading of the patients in the two groups were recorded. Correlations between the above-mentioned indicators and occurrence of meniscus tear secondary to delayed ACL reconstruction were assessed. In the meantime, the independent risk factors were determined by univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analysis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and area under curve (AUC) were used to evaluate the warning effectiveness of each risk factor for meniscal tear secondary to delayed ACL reconstruction. Results:Univariate analysis showed correlation of duration of disease, BMI, Tegner activity scale of the knee joint, medial posterior tibial slope angle, lateral posterior tibial slope angle and high-grade pivot shift with occurrence of meniscus tear secondary to delayed ACL reconstruction ( P<0.01). The results of multivariate binary logistic regression analysis showed that the duration of disease ≥14.5 weeks ( OR=1.20, 95% CI 1.05, 1.38, P<0.01), BMI≥26.9 kg/m 2 ( OR=1.36, 95% CI 1.03, 1.81, P<0.05), Tegner activity scale of the knee joint ≥4 points ( OR=2.29, 95% CI 1.18, 4.46, P<0.05), medial posterior tibial slope angle ≥11.2° ( OR=2.27, 95% CI 1.06, 4.89, P<0.05) and high-grade pivot shift ( OR=0.03, 95% CI 0.01, 0.03, P<0.05) were significantly correlated with occurrence of meniscus tear secondary to delayed ACL reconstruction. Results of ROC curve analysis showed that the medial posterior tibial slope angle (AUC=0.86, 95% CI 0.80, 0.93) and duration of disease (AUC=0.85, 95% CI 0.77, 0.92) had good warning value, BMI (AUC=0.78, 95% CI 0.69, 0.87) and Tegner activity scale of the knee joint (AUC=0.73, 95% CI 0.64, 0.83) had ordinary warning value, and the warning value of high-grade pivot shift (AUC=0.60, 95% CI 0.49, 0.71) was the lowest. The combination of the risk factors revealed superior warning effectiveness for meniscus tear second to delayed ACL reconstruction (AUC=0.97, 95% CI 0.96, 1.00). Conclusions:The duration of disease ≥14.5 weeks, BMI ≥26.9 kg/m 2, Tegner score ≥4 points, medial posterior tibial slope angle ≥11.2°and high-grade pivot shift are independent risk factors for meniscus tear secondary to delayed ACL reconstruction. The medial posterior tibial slope angle and duration of disease have good warning value, BMI and Tegner scores have ordinary warning value and high-grade pivot shift has the lowest warning value. The combination of the above risk factors has better warning effectiveness for meniscus tear secondary to delayed ACL reconstruction.